There have been countless blog posts and news articles, including a few here on PrepaidPhoneNews, explaining how to turn T-Mobile's controversial Bing On feature off and on. You can do it with the My T-Mobile App for iOS or Android or on the My T-Mobile desktop or mobile websites. That works but takes a few clicks and some waiting, especially using T-Mobile's no so speedy mobile site. It turns out there's an easier way. Twitter user and PrepaidPhoneNews reader @Loco_Mole discovered a faster and easier way to enable and disable Binge On using USSD codes:

Dial #264# to check Binge On Status

Dial #263# to disable Binge On

Dial #266# to enable Binge On

@Loco_Mole found these codes on T-Mobile's official list of Self Service codes. Shortly after he tweeted about his discovery, the Binge On codes disappeared from the T-Mobile site. The screen shot below shows Google cache's copy of the page before it was edited to remove the codes. I guess T-Mobile doesn't want to make it too easy to toggle Bing On off and on.

If you missed all the hoopla, Binge On throttles all video streams to 1.5 Mbps and makes viewing of some them is zero-rated, meaning they don't count against the user's high speed data cap. Binge On is enabled by default for all T-Mobile and MetroPCS customers, but only T-Mobile users with plans that include 3 GB or more high speed data get zero-rated streaming.

The majority of streams that are zero rated are either obscure or ones you have to pay for. YouTube, the most popular free streaming service by far, is throttled but not zero rated. The throttling makes YouTube videos stutter and buffer and Google, YouTube's parent, isn't happy about that. T-Mobile claims they need You Tube's cooperation to zero rate it. It seems to me that if T-Mobile can detect and throttle YouTube there's nothing stopping them from also zero rating it. I believe Binge On could be a great service if T-Mobile would make it easy for users to turn it on and off on the fly and treat all video services the same. When Binge On is enabled all video should be both throttled and zero-rated. Withe @Loco_Mole's discovery the first problem is solved, assuming T-Mobile doesn't get all hissy and disable the codes. Now T-Mobile just needs to fix Binge On by making it fair and equitable to all content providers.

Update 1/15/15 10 AM: The Binge On short codes are no longer working. I guess T-Mobile doesn't want us to be able to disable Binge On too easily.

Cricket's throttled speed in most of the country allows you to stream any music other Netflix or YouTube easily. If i ask you what Cricket's speed prevents you from doing, i will hear nothing but crickets fron you. That's quality.

T-Mobile, in great contrast, provides 0 bars of data in most places. That's not even at attempt at quality. 0 mbps being far worse than "throttled" 5mps.

From a net neutrality, this isn't half as bad as the parental controls T-Mobile enabled on my account without my consent. It's not even close, because I can turn off BingeOn without showing three forms of ID.

I understand technology, and understand that the real censorship is not slowing down certain sites or content but true censorship is blocking certain sites based on categorizarion as "sex" or "drugs" or whatever else is being literally censored.

T-Mobile says they were testing the short codes. Test over, codes disabled for now.

During its independent study of 1000 Tmo customers, P3 Group consulting found that with Binge On, the bandwidth allotted to video — streamed or downloaded — was around 1.5Mbps, echoing the findings of the EFF. However, P3 says that apart from net neutrality concerns, the bandwidth limitation actually has positive effects. With Binge On, customers spend more time watching more video, video services get more content in front of users, and T-Mobile attracts customers and can better fight network congestion, says P3.

No T-Mobile customers agree with you. And many people will switch to T-Mobile to get Binge On. FCC has not announced any issue with Binge On following their meeting with T-Mobile. This is just Tmo envy. If your favorite carrier offered this service, you would love it, and brag to all your friends.

I think the number of customers of other carriers who want Binge-On, with its arbitrary slowing/censorship of content from companies it happens to dislike, to come to their carrier can fit inside a Nokia flip phone.

The only "benefit" that can come about is if the EFF and others prevail and the FCC requires T-Mobile to obey the law. Might as well call "Binge On" "Bludge On" instead for its hamhanded censorship.

The results of the pressure to make T-Mobile stop the criminal activity, or even pay for it, would be very good for T-Mobile customers. They could do the right thing and change Binge-On so that ALL data could be binged (web, video, music, anything you think of). Very legal. Or something might happen with a class action lawsuit causing T-Mobile to credit its customers for the time that the customers received illegally-curtailed service.

The benefits are great to all carriers if T-mobile is stopped. T-Mobile is testing the waters for all of them in the area of flying in the fact of the law and taking a creepy interest in what types of data customers are using. You can bet Verizon and the others want to see T-Mobile prevail. Or Cricket, which is currently violating this law by banning tether.

It's hard to imagine anyone supporting this censorship and lawbreaking, really. As it can only make things worse for customers AND damage our First Amendment.